Why it works: Tomato and parsley are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,398 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Cotelettes De Homard a I'Aspic
Ingredients
Directions
Line the moulds
Line ten cutlet moulds with aspic jelly.
Prepare the filling
Split the lobster and remove the meat.
Cut the meat into slices about ½ inch thick.
Slice the tomato, then remove the skin and seeds.
Place a slice of lobster and tomato in each mould.
Wash and bone the anchovy.
Pound the anchovy with butter and shrimp in a mortar.
Moisten the mixture with enough aspic to make it set.
Rub the mixture through a fine sieve.
Season to taste.
Fill the moulds with this mixture.
Finish with a thin layer of aspic on top.
Set and serve
Once set, turn out the moulds onto a round dish.
Fill the center with the remaining lobster meat and diced tomato.
Garnish with chopped aspic and parsley.
Keep in a cool place until ready to serve.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Tomato + parsleytop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,398 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Lobster + shrimptop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together403 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Shrimp + buttertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,931 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Tomato + shrimptop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,689 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lobster
- Provides the main meaty texture and flavour of the cutlets.
- Aspic jelly
- Sets the cutlets firm and gives them a clear, moist glossy body.
- Butter
- Adds richness and helps the pounded mixture hold together smoothly.
- Shrimps
- Add delicate sweet seafood flavour and body to the pounded filling.
- Anchovies
- Add a salty, savoury depth that seasons the filling.
- Tomato
- Adds acidity and fresh flavour that brightens the rich seafood.
The step that matters
Moisten the mixture with enough aspic to make it set. Aspic is gelatine-based, so too little liquid leaves the filling crumbly and unable to hold its shape when turned out, while too much makes it loose and slow to firm. Add it gradually until the mixture is spreadable but holds its form.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lobster, shrimp, butter, parsley):
- Chivefits better
- Potatofits better
- Shallotfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lobster, shrimp, butter, parsley. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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